When I moved back to the US from the UK, I was delighted to discover right wing media commentators. After living in a country with a media dominated by anti-American, government intervention in all things left wingers, it was a relief to see that another perspective still existed. Fifteen minutes later, I realized that Bill, Rush, Savage and Sean are such egomaniacal asses that their politics don't really matter. GM's decision to hire Sean Hannity to host a flag-waving national radio promotion doesn't really matter either– except to the people for whom it does. Surfing the left-leaning blogs, it's clear they are one whole Hell of a lot less than happy about GM's choice. Hiring such a contentious commentator certainly seems like a bone-headed idea. The General needs all the friends it can get– from either side of the political divide. Still, it's bound to please the red state "heartland," who could well be GM's last redoubt. Has it really come to this, then, or am I just being overly politically sensitive? Listen and discuss.
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I think you are being overly politically sensitive. There are 2 reasons GM is doing this: One is his show is the second most popular radio show in the country. Two, he is a fan of GM vehicles. He has stated this before. I think he owns an Escalade. So it is just a natural fit. If GM does somehting in the future with Jay Leno (no right winger he) do you think it will be becaase of his politics? Or because he is a “car guy”?
Rush Limbaugh is an avid golfer. If a golf company wanted him to push a product it would be primarily becuase of that fact and his marketing reach, not his politics.
I think we all make the mistake of thinking that corporations are political idealogues: In another words they lean left or right. While for a few that may be true (Ben and Jerry’s) the real truth is that corporations are amoral. They will support whatever or whomever will give them what they want – the ability to continue to make the most profit possible or at least to leave them the hell alone and not get in the way of whatever their business is. They don’t care about left, right, Democrat, Republican – if it serves their best interests then it’s fine with them. That’s what this is to GM, something that they think will give them exposure to sell more of their product. If this particular promotion should in some way back fire on them, well, it would’nt be the first time that company has miscalculated in a promotional event.
Me, I’d play it straight down the middle (believe it or not).
We NEED MORE Diesels.
–chuck
Your average politically active liberal who would actively seek to “punish” GM for this is not a prospect for GM products. Your average hardcore lefty either is an elitist who drives a V8 Lexus or BMW or a neo hippie who pilots a five year old Insight. People like me who try to buy something with an American badge on it if at all reasonable and practical, will like the patriotism, but will not allow it to be our fundamental reason for buying or not buying a domestic. As for nationalism, I believe it, if used properly and with restraint, could bear fruit for GM. And besides, liberals view American “Jingoism†the same way vampires view holy water, and anything that makes liberals suffer is a good thing.
—-Two, he is a fan of GM vehicles. He has stated this before. I think he owns an Escalade. So it is just a natural fit. —–
Actually, Sean is a fan of big, gas-guzzling, SUVs and feels that it is every American’s right to drive them as well as have access to cheap gasoline, regardless of where it comes from and who we have to occupy for it. He feels that small cars are against what America stands for.
THAT’S what he has said on his show.
2006300c:
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:19 am
Your average politically active liberal who would actively seek to “punish†GM for this is not a prospect for GM products. Your average hardcore lefty either is an elitist who drives a V8 Lexus or BMW or a neo hippie who pilots a five year old Insight. People like me who try to buy something with an American badge on it if at all reasonable and practical, will like the patriotism, but will not allow it to be our fundamental reason for buying or not buying a domestic. As for nationalism, I believe it, if used properly and with restraint, could bear fruit for GM. And besides, liberals view American “Jingoism†the same way vampires view holy water, and anything that makes liberals suffer is a good thing.
I guess that you’re not aware of the sales of Mercedes, BMW, and Lexus among conservative Republicans then. LOL!
I think they look at it like this.. GM isn’t likely to ever win head on with the Japanese in the small car market. They only are there now, accepting losses every time they sell a car. Which is pointless from a business perspective.
The crown jewels of GM North America is the big trucks. Silverado/Sierra, Escalade, Yukon… And the main people buying those are the people in truck country, which is also the republican strong holds, and conservative talk radio country.
To use a political analogy maybe this is GM’s version of the Taliban leaving Afghanistan’s urban centers and heading for the villages:).
Sean Hannity is the opposite of a “great American.”
He’s a neophypte McCarthy bastard who fascisitically advocated cancelling the 2004 elections in case of terrorist attacks.
I’ll shorten this — he’s a douchebag.
Tell us what you REALLY think, Jonny
I think the word is postpone the election – like the way they postponed the mayorial election in NY after 911.
“Counterterrorism officials have asked the Justice Department to determine if the November presidential election could be postponed in the event a terror attack occurred at that time, Newsweek reported yesterday.”
“The prospect that Al Qaeda might seek to disrupt the U.S. election was a major factor behind last week’s terror warning by Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, the magazine said. ”
Actually, 9/11/01 WAS an election day—the mayoral primary. The elections were suspended and rescheduled within a couple of weeks.
2006300c and nino, you are both missing the point. If you are white collar and well to do you will tend to drive Cadillac, Lincoln, Mercedes, BMW, etc. It doesn’t matter what your political affiliation is. If you are blue collar, live in the country, work in trade services, etc. you are likely to drive a truck or SUV. A lot of them will be domestics but some will be foreign. And aren’t a lot of blue collar folks democrats?
If you make more than 6 figures you will probably be driving a German or Japanese luxury car, except for the ocassional Caddy or Lincoln. It doesn’t have anything to do with politics. Cultural predelictions are far more powerful than politics.
Guys:
I like this site a LOT better when you’re talking cars and not politics. I am a red-state, meat-eating, right-leaning, Texan, father of a a Marine serving in Iraq, who reads the articles on this site daily. I even have TTAC monitored in my RSS news feed – along with NewsMax, Michelle Malkin, Hot Air, etc.
In short, I’m one of those guys that Robert, Jonny, et all seem to think of as a complete idiot.
Yet, I’m a TTAC reader.
What does THAT say about this site? Here’s the deal, guys – the problem with political polarization is that the two extremes villianize each other. Interestingly, there is a difference. Those on the left (and I have plenty of friends and customers that identify themselves on that side) seem to think that those on the right are moronic simpletons. Those on the right (like me) look on the guys on the left as just not “getting it.”
Regardless of who is right – and who isn’t – I think we need LESS – not MORE polarized political discourse, especially here on TTAC. If you wanna drive American (which I guess includes Toyota, etc., since they have plants in the US), be my guest. (For the record, my wife and I both drive Jeeps – me a Wrangler, her a Liberty, with a big USMC logo on her tire cover.) If you wanna drive an import, that’s your right, too. Want to drive SUVs and burn more gas than your Prius-driving neighbor? Fine…you’ll pay more at the pump. (Hint: that’s what unfettered capitalism’s all about – you burn it, you buy it.)
I live in Amarillo (Centrally located between two oceans!) on I-40 (nee: Route 66), the road that connects the two coasts. Can’t get more Red state than the Texas Panhandle. Yet, there are a lot of liberals here. I know for a fact that there are a lot of conservatives in places you’d call “Blue states.” So what? The country is currently divided right down the center on Left/Right issues. To take cheap shots against those of us on the right is (IMHO) not a “growth strategy” for TTAC. Looking outside the industry, this strategy has done wonders for the careers of the Dixie Chicks. (Disclosure #2: I know Martie and Emily personally – in fact, I hired them for their first gig in Vegas, in their pre-Natalie Maines days. And, yes, I’m ashamed that THEY are from Texas.)
Please try to stay on point. If you want to bash GM for a boneheaded move (which is like shooting ducks in a barrel) please do so. (It’s what got me to TTAC in the first place.) If you want to use your bully pulpit to bully those on the right, forget it. We get plenty of that in the mainstream media.
In short – please don’t screw this site up.
Windswords: Yest somehow we managed to have presidential elections during the Civil War and WWI and WW2, etc.
CaptainDigital: Jeep is owned by a German Company.
Jonny Lieberman,
“I’ll shorten this — he’s a douchebag.”
Very classy statement. Thanks for insulting your readers who happen to like Sean Hannity.
This is a car blog, why do you have to go out of your way to needlesly upset people?
Hal.
Shabster — this is a car blog and the world’s largest car company just picked that douchbag to be their pitchman.
I’m going out of my way to hold my tongue — please trust me on that.
Jonny Lieberman:
Yep, really classy……
The tension in the comments thread illustrates the danger of GM embracing such a politically controversial pitchman. I assume that GM did the calculations and assumed it was worth it. Nevertheless, I question their judgment on two fronts.
First, if they are trying to better connect with the heartland, couldn’t they have picked someone who was less politically controversial? GM has enough troubles with their vehicles without adding “culture war” issues to the mix.
Second, their timing is questionable. If they had made this move two or three years ago that might have made sense, but the public mood seems to be shifting — even in red states. If GM is going to be perceived as taking political sides, shouldn’t they do so with a clearly dominant winner rather than one that may very well lose an election in a few weeks?
I guess what I’m saying is that GM’s marketing wizards seem a little tone deaf. I hope no one gets a bonus for this marketing ploy.
If you want to use your bully pulpit to bully those on the right, forget it. We get plenty of that in the mainstream media.
Oh, please. Cry me a fricking river. The right wingnuts own the ‘mainstream’ media. For the past five years, the media has fallen all over themselves to fellate Bush and the GOP leadership. Even the New York Times pushed fake news articles (google Judith Miller Chalabi articles) to help get us into the Iraq war. Before 2001, the media establishment bought into all the dishonest Whitewater and Vince Foster crap, too. You’re getting the _tiniest_ taste of what progressives have to live with on a daily basis from all media outlets save poltical blogs.
If you want less partisanship, you’re going to have to talk to your criminal, pedophile buddies in the GOP, who have gone out of their way to exclude and belittle Democrats at every opportunity since 1994. But I don’t think you really do. Because you’re going to dismiss this post with a typically Hannitized ad hominem statement like ‘the godless liberals deserve to be left out of governance, because they hate America.’ How nonpartisan of you. Jesus would approve.
Steven T.:
Steven, your point is well taken.
I just want you to know that I have no problem with Mr. Lieberman airing his political views, it’s just that the term “douchebag” is a name I remember from grade school.
I’d think that The Truth About Cars might write for a slightly more mature audience.
Further, calling Mr. Hannity a douchebag implies that I’m a douchebag. Yes, I do have many faults, but I’m not a douchebag.
I’m surprised that Mr. Farago doesn’t want to operate a blog of higher quality than say, Autoblog.
Hal.
You Hannity fans might want to educate yourselves (haha! just kidding! I know what you think of education!). Here’s the document Hannity doesn’t want you to read.
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/kfiles/b91585.html
First of all, there isn’t anything that the multiple GM dealerships in my part of red state America are selling that I would want. So whoever they want to hire to pitch it to the public wil have no impact on me.
For those in the know, since I don’t listen to his radio program or watch his tv show, just what exactly is his criteria for crowning somebody “a great American?”
I don’t know what particular GM automobiles he’s pitching. It would be pretty ironic, though, if he is hawking Saabs. Maybe some great Swedish Americans would dig that. The anti “import” crowd might bristle at that, though.
Frankly, I think GM has the market niche they may be trying to appeal to in this stunt all locked up. Most Republican bumper stickers around here are on SUVs or pickups with a sticker of Calvin urinating on a Ford symbol (or a Ford with Calvin urinating on a Chevy symbol). Hannity is probably tuned to the radio dial inside. Sounds like they are preaching to the choir, not really trying to take market share from some other carmaker. Playing defense against the competition from Toyota and Nissan.
Time will tell if playing the patriotism card will work. It didn’t in the family car market against the Accord and Camry.
Interesting discourse but I think it has wandered off-topic. There are many examples of political figures hawking products for many companies. I recall that former Speaker of the House Tip O’Neil (D) did a series of funny ads for some hotel chain. More recently former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R) has done ads for ED. Sting, a well known left-leaning activist (and self-described expert in marathon Tantric lovemaking), did ads for Jaguar without negative repercussion. On the other hand, Ford is using Toby Keith. Guess what he thinks about the Dixie Chicks?
I don’t see the harm in it. Lieberman told us what he though of Hannity. However, I suspect that Jonny’s opinion of GM vehicles (feel free to correct me if I am wrong) will continue to be based on the quality of their cars not the glitz (or lack thereof) of any particular marketing campaign.
I don’t see the harm in it.
Depends how partisan the seller’s image is. I’d say that Hannity is all about partisanship as a career, unlike musicians Sting and Keith, and more-or-less consensus builder politiicans O’Neill and Dole.
Sell GM’s to the converted? Sure. Converting diehard left-wing import buyers? Sure, let them buy elsewhere, GM doesn’t need their money anyway. Riiiight.
Tip O’Neill was a consensus builder? Try convincing Reagan’s budget guru’s or any of the Republicans that served in the House during the ‘70s and ‘80s.
I don’t believe that GM is looking to convert buyers, especially those who are inclined to buy European. GM and Ford are desperately trying to hold on to their customer base from the Japanese onslaught led by Toyota and Honda with their new pickup trucks. How many full-size American pickup trucks do you see driving the streets of the (so-called) liberal Mecca’s such as New York City or LA? Probably about as many as you see on the streets of Amarillo, which has a fraction of the population. Thus, Hannity and Keith.
The ads with Hannity are not for Lieberman in LA. They are meant to keep Hank Hill in Texas from trading in his beloved domestic pickup in for a new Tundra or Ridgeline.
I’m a conservative, pro life, live in a Red State,got all the proper bona fides, but as far as Hannity goes I’m in 100% agreement with Johnny.
It was a stupid move and the first goofy thing he says will have him yanked. It’ll take all of 30 seconds.
I don’t think he can market anything besides himself.
I used to hear him on the radio in Atlanta in ’94/’95 when he had this lame promo about being conservative and listening to Nine Inch Nails. That was BS then, and whatever he says is BS now. In my opinion he makes us all look like idiots.
whitenose: Oh, please. Cry me a fricking river. The right wingnuts own the ‘mainstream’ media. For the past five years, the media has fallen all over themselves to fellate Bush and the GOP leadership.
Most reporters are Democrats (this has been proven); and the “mainstream media” usually tilts center left on social issues. It does hew more closely to the center when reporting on economic issues, because most of the editorial staff of the larger, mainstream publications and news outlets are part of the upper middle class.
whitenose: You’re getting the _tiniest_ taste of what progressives have to live with on a daily basis from all media outlets save poltical blogs.
Actually, if accuracy in reporting is the goal, the “progressive” label is outdated, as most progressives appear to be stuck in about 1965.
Incidentally, look at how evangelical Christians or libertarians are covered in the mainstream media – then we can talk about how “progressives” fare.
Lost My Cookies:
I completely agree with you regarding Hannity. To me he is just a big mouth connected to an uneducated brain; a master debater who shouts over anyone that disagrees with him.
But his ratings suggest that whole lot of others disagree.
I would just like to state my opinion that if you were to disqualify the almighty glorious state of Texas, Southern California has more F150s, F250s, F350s and jacked-up F450s than the south.
ahhh politics. nothing makes people less rational than a rational discussion about politics.
Actually, I tried to make a couple of points in a calm, rational manner.
Well, I’d buy a car with Hannity behind it if it ran off all of his hot air.
As legal foreign resident in the USA, i actually find this discussion amusing. It parallels in a eery-sort-of-way the eternal discussion domestics vs imports (of should i say imports vs imports)… Should we start a GOP Death Watch? ;-)
Jonny Lieberman:
October 3rd, 2006 at 9:33 am
Windswords: Yest somehow we managed to have presidential elections during the Civil War and WWI and WW2, etc.
True enough, but if Pearl Harbor had occurred on election day I tend to think the people in HI would be thinking of voting anymore than the residents of NYC on 9/11. The same could be said for the residents of Gettysburg. Of course a lot of this would depend on how localized the damage was . In the case of 9/11 because all the airliners were grounded for what 3 days, if their had been an election scheduled the next day or two it would make sense in this case to postpone it.
Correction: meant to say wouldn’t be thinking of voting instead of would be thinking of voting. I tried to edit this but the editing feature didn’t work. ???
Didn’t Hannity just blame Foley’s transgressions on…wiat for it… Bill Clinton?
Come on — the guy is a joke.
Didn’t liberals blame George Bush for Katrina, (the hurricane itself) come on now; there is irrationality all over the political landscape. Also Sean Hannity is not a douche bag, Jon Stewart, now there is the alpha male of douche bags, at least Colbert is funny.
New York City has some PITA restrictions for pickup truck owners, so you won’t see many there.
Foley humor: wonkette.com, politicalhumor.about.com
Back to pitchmen: is Hannity GM’s answer to Jill “Mercury Girl” Wagner? I’d rather see Marie Silvia (aka Queen Levitra) pitch a car (pun intended). She was basically coming on to viewers with those ads, no wonder why I (and many other guys) couldn’t stop watching.
Full disclosure: I’m a New York City liberal and my last car was a Pontiac. Before that, a Ford Ranger (no car at the moment since I live in Manhattan).
“2006300c:
October 3rd, 2006 at 1:19 am “
A point by point refutation of that ignorant horseshit would be a waste of time. Liberals love this country as much, and I would argue more, than those alleged right-wingers (i.e., not true Conservatives) looking to shred the Constitution and give away our freedoms as they dive under beds hiding from bogeymen.
“2006300c:
October 3rd, 2006 at 2:32 pm
Didn’t liberals blame George Bush for Katrina, (the hurricane itself)”
No, liberals (and many others) blamed him for the horrendous response to the Katrina disaster. Any other easy questions?
Regarding Hannity’s endless douchebaggery, today he compared Foley to Clinton, as Johnny noted, and also lied about the age of Monica Lewinsky in the process. He said she was a teenager when she was actually 22. Watch it:
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/10/03/extreme-right-winger-blames-predatorgate-on-clenis/
I think there is far too much out there to support the idea that Hannity is a liar and a douchebag. It’s irrefutable. People can still like listening to him, but to treat him as anything more than comic relief, is bad investment of effort.
shabster said:
“Further, calling Mr. Hannity a douchebag implies that I’m a douchebag. Yes, I do have many faults, but I’m not a douchebag.”
When did car guys become such delicate flowers? Moreover, I thought playing the victim card was a liberal trait (according to the right wing)?
I like stupid movies. When people say they’re stupid, I don’t take offense because the movie has little reflection on who I am. I recognize not everything I enjoy is completely sophisticated.
Similarly, Sean Hannity is a douchebag, and if you listen to him, it’s because you like listening to a douchebag. That’s all. You are not what you listen to.
I should add that despite the fact that you don’t like terms from grade school, this certainly is a grade school level argument.
“geeber:
October 3rd, 2006 at 11:50 am
Most reporters are Democrats (this has been proven);”
Most editors, publishers, owners/corporate boards of corporations that publish or distribute the various media, are Republicans (this has been proven).
———-
Getting to the wisdom of appointing Sean Hannity, I think it’s a bad idea and poorly timed. Republicans are waning in influence, and, for example, Fox News lost approximately 25% of their ratings last year. Far more than the approximately 12% MSNBC and other comparable networks lost (not that MSNBC is a liberal counter-point). Republicans are on the verge of losing either the House or the Senate (or both). Bush’s ratings are back down under 40%.
All these factors combined seem to indicate that GM is behind the curve on appointing polarizing loudmouths like Sean Hannity. Perhaps after 9/11 when McCarthyite rantings were overlooked, it may have been understandable.
By contrast, despite the fact that the left wing looks to make serious in-roads, I wouldn’t suggest, for example, Volvo hire Michael Moore. I think it’s bad business to hire these types of spokespeople.
In general, I think there’s only marginal value to having celebrity spokespeople. In the case of polarizing figures, that marginal value is very much offset by the number of people on the other side of the political spectrum that will come to associate the brand with “the other side.” Once your brand is tarnished in such a way, it’s very difficult to get rid of it.
And tying yourself to a particular political party leaves you at the mercy of the party’s fortunes. For a company like GM, they really shouldn’t be taking this kind of risk.
But that’s my opinion. My guess is that GM thought that this as a quick and dirty way to shore up support amongst what they consider “core” buyers (i.e., xenophobic consumers who don’t know how much of their car is made in Canada, Mexico, Japan, or South Korea or that the Honda they just saw was made in Illinois). I think they will discover that they miscalculated on this gamble.
Typical New Yorker attitude, almost as bad as a Californian. I’ve never seen the American flag burned at any moderate or right demonstration and not one of my rights or freedoms has been harmed in anyway. The rights of non American terrorist savages have been restricted but that fact, like their lives, is not relevant. BTW, a car’s nationality is based upon where the corporate HQ and its nation of origin, not where it is assembled. There is no difference between a Canadian robot or an American one. When the assembly process was more human intensive, origin was important; this is no longer the case.
Can we drop the politics and get some more Diesels please?
–chuck
Its a stupid move. The size of Hannity’s audience is irrelevant. he is, as is apparent, a very polarizing figure, and people are going to interpret everything he says with his politics in mind. the last thing GM needs right now is to play politics and needlessly alienate potential customers.
I think its likely this will turn off more buyers than it attracts. Who’s going to say “I’m buying a Pontiac because sean Hannity says so?”
I thought this sight was supposed to discuss product……not whether or not a company is trying to make a political statement. I really don’t think any of you know what the upper management of a major auto manufacturer is thinking when they sign a celebrity to plug their product……. because it is a domestic, many of you are just looking for something negative to say.
By the way did anyone see the month end sales results for September.
Nissan – Down
Honda – Down
Ford – Up
Lots of Japanese companies sucking wind now-a-days.
2006300c: So, since Jeep’s Corporate HQ is in Deutschland, the Liberty and the Patriot are foreign cars?
bznx9w: We discuss all things automotive, not just the products.
And we can play that game all day. Toyota up, GM down, DCX down, Mazda up.
regarding Ford, most of those sales were for the Mustang (rightly so) and the Fusion siblings (read: Mazda 6s) but their lucrative truck sales were down 5.3%.
I’ll let Robert address us bashing dmoestics because they are domestics.
Chrysler is the corporation; Jeep is a brand of Chrysler. Chrysler is HQ‘d in Auburn Hills. Chrysler originated in the US and takes its cultural inspiration for its products from here. Chrysler is not German, Aston martin is not American, and Nissan is not French. Come on now jonny.
BTW, a major reason for the decline of GM sales this September compared to last is their attempt to wean themselves of the poison of fleet sales.
In point of fact, Chrysler IS German.
The company is now offically Daimler/Chrysler
http://www.daimlerchrysler.com/
They got a picture of the very German Dr. Z right up front there along with a tiny picture of the new Sebring.
They even give you an address if you want to right the good Doctor for Oktoberfest tickets
Address:
DaimlerChrysler AG
70546 Stuttgart
Germany
Phone: +49 711 17 0
Fax: +49 711 17 22244
Jeep = German
BTW, a car’s nationality is based upon where the corporate HQ and its nation of origin, not where it is assembled. There is no difference between a Canadian robot or an American one. When the assembly process was more human intensive, origin was important; this is no longer the case.
I’m sorry, but this is a pretty dumb argument.
It sure as hell matters where a car is built. That’s why they have stickers on the car that detail the national content of the vehicle.
Convince an out-of-work US auto worker that his job is now being done by a Chinese worker and tell him that the car is still a “domestic” car.
As far as GM using Sean Hannity to hawk their products….
I’d like to believe that celebrity endoresements of products have no influence on the buying public. Yet, companies continue to do it. If a person buys a GM car solely because Sean told them to and that they’d be a great American for doing so, that person has other, more serious problems, than what car they drive.
Nino –
Toyota’s Sienna and US-built Camrys are listed as having over 90% US content on the little sticker. That isn’t going to make a laid-off auto worker any happier.
I guess I could try to make the argument that when you buy a foreign-built Detroit 2.5 product, you send more money back to the mother ship than one built in the US, so you’re doing a better job of supporting them financially by buying a Fusion/Milan/MKZ/PT Cruiser/HHR/Equinox/Torrent, etc.
I’m sorry, but this is a pretty dumb argument.
It sure as hell matters where a car is built. That’s why they have stickers on the car that detail the national content of the vehicle.
Convince an out-of-work US auto worker that his job is now being done by a Chinese worker and tell him that the car is still a “domestic†car.
I would tell him that the Union that represented him and he himself should not have been so damned greedy, short sighted, lazy and arrogant.
So now it’s the workers’ fault?
Sean hannity has a car — and a bridge — that he’d love to sell you.
People don’t pay enough attention to GM nowadays to even know or care who their pitchmen/women may be. Most people are middle of the road and can only look at the rabid right and the vapid left and shake their heads in dismay.
Yes it is the workers fault, they are paid far more than what toyota/hyandai workers are paid and far more than they are worth.
Flexible Despot:
What you said.
They are preaching to the choir.
Would’ve been better to try to go on the offense by promoting vehicles, perhaps in California where GM is said to be such a marginal player.
I personally can’t stand right radio. I’m not sure I would ‘boycott’ a kickass GM product because of Hannity – but I’m a car nut. (insert ironic comment about GM’s problems stemming from complete lack of kickass product…here)
I’m sure some some liberals might ‘boycott’ if they have the bad sense to buy a GM in the first place, if they aren’t already steamed at GM for the B.S. “Go Yellow” thing, which is just a coverup for gaming the CAFE system.
GM needs all the freinds it can get though.
2006300c:
Pretending that American workers should be paid like the workers in other countries for a minute, payroll to the people taht actually build the machines is between 6-8% of the total price of a car.
The average US Auto worker makes $80 an hour, if you factor in benefits, pensions and other stuff.
The average American autoworker building Toyotas in Ohio makes $40 an hour. Same basic pay, just crap beneifts and no Pension or Union perks.
So, if GM could costs in line with that, then the slice that the workers take out of each vehicle would go to 3-4%.
So, you are telling me that this 3-to-4% reduction in cost per vehicle would save GM?
Hannity’s waiting: he wants to discuss the terrorist Teacher’s Union with you.
It would help, and I’m saying that every union action and non action since the 1973 oil crisis which started the decline of the big three has culminated in the current crisis. The US autoworker was the richest working person in the world for a good thirty years with no problems, now thanks to competition and an aging workforce the bill for those good times has come due, and it is steep.
BTW I am a recent high school graduate, I’m in college now and I have learned how bad my “education” really was. I’ve learned more Spanish and Calculus in one month than I did during four years of high school. And I went to the best funded schools in my county, Don’t get me started on the Teachers Union.
Pretty jaded aren’t you Jonny?
I don’t where you get your figures about cost, but if you think 4% of margin is important in the auto manufacturing biz, you don’t know much about the biz.
No one has said that GM and Ford do not have problem, I just don’t understand the mentality of “Love the Asian’s”. There are plenty of problems in the Honda and Nissan camp. I happen to believe that Toyota is a good company however, point to the exciting cars in their line-up and then explain why they are better than Corvettes, Mustangs, Monte Carlos, G6’s, HHR’s, SSR’s, F150’s, Silverado’s.
Do you really want me to get excited over Element’s, Civic’s and Altima’s…………..come on!!!
bznx9w: I know pletny about the biz.
My point to mr. recent high school graduate is that labor is a small part of GM’s problem, less than 5% of the problem to be exact.
There is no “Love the Asians”
There is only “Love the Good Cars.”
Every review ever posted on this site bares that fact out.
Jonny:
I must have missed your favorable review of the Corvette and the Silverado.
I think the general constantly blames labor since it would rather not admit publically that it can’t move cars in sufficient numbers. As for union wages being too high, GM has no one to blame but itself. It did, after all, agree to pay them these wages in the first place; perhaps they should have realized then that doing so would cause problems down the road.
bznx9w: I’ve driven the Vette and the Z06.
Both are totally excellent, interiors from hell not withstanding.
Silerado… I tend to not like Dirt Haulers, but I will bite my tongue until I drive the new one.
A_B: Most editors, publishers, owners/corporate boards of corporations that publish or distribute the various media, are Republicans (this has been proven).
And this is irrelevant. As I said before, most mainstream media lean to the center left on social issues, and track more closely to the center on economic issues.
Plus, urban, upper-middle class Republicans (the class of most these owners and editors and publishers) are not necessarily all that conservative, and certainly not libertarian. If you doubt that, find out why the acronym RINO – Republican In Name Only – came into being.
Having your car company be identified with a(ny) poltical party can’t be a good idea… but it will be interesting to see what happens.
/Dodge driving Liberal
Oh please!! The US press needs to be more like the UK press. Where are the US versions of Jeremy Paxman and John Humphreys – interviewers who never let politicians get away with their soundbite b/s and try to make them answer the important questions??